Abstract

Architects in Turkey have made extensive reference to traditional Anatolian building styles
in recent work. However, there has been little systematic study of how they have gone
about the use of these references. This research analyses varied approaches of designers
and their ways of interpreting the vernacular heritage in recent living environments. This
research is not designed to investigate the architectural design process itself; the aim is
rather to look for possible influences of the archetypes of vernacular and regional
architecture in contemporary architecture in order to create a unique identity, using
different design actions; imitation, bricolage, analogies, interpretation and mimesis. In
order to search for the possible effect of the archetypes of vernacular environment on
contemporary design practice, selected architects who have been active in the recent design
of tourism buildings in Turkey have been selected. Seventeen case studies have been
analysed and nine architects have been interviewed. Many regions in Turkey have been
visited in order to have wider archive of Anatolian Historical and Vernacular archetypes.
From each architect, several buildings have been chosen for observation and analysis. The
data was collected in several different ways, which are: first, direct observation, visiting
the sites for the relevant information such as photographs, sketches and scaled drawings;
second, semi-structured interviews with the designer in order to catch their intentions in
selected case studies. The current study is based on qualitative analysis using
HyperResearch software on both materials gathered by observation and interview
transcripts. The result of the collected data with selected research method showed that the
Anatolian historical and vernacular archetypes are being used by the architects in their
recent architectural practices via different level of referential interpretations. The research
goes beyond simple subjective observations of the use of historical references; this has
been achieved through the development of framework for the systematic classification and
analysis of a range of reference types. This has been used both in the interpretation of
visual material and in the analysis of documentary sources and interviews with architects.
The intentions of each architect in case studies have been identified and a list of most
frequently used historical elements have also been given.
Keywords: Vernacular architecture, historical references, Tourism Buildings, Turkish
Architecture, Imitation, Bricolage, Analogy, Interpretation, Mimesis.